Multiple Carcinoid Tumors of the Small Bowel

The patient from which these specimens were removed was a young man who presented with symptoms referable to the lower intestinal tract. Colonoscopy was negative, but the endoscopist's peek up into the terminal ileum with the colonoscope disclosed a small mucosal nodule, biopsy of which showed carcinoid tumor. The patient then underwent exploration of the intestine by way of a small-incision, laparoscopy-guided laparotomy. On "running the bowel," the surgeon noted four nodules in addition to the tumor seen on colonoscopy. All were resected as two segmental resections and one wedge resection. The longest segment of the small bowel, shown above en face, has three of the tumors, one near each end, and one slightly left of the midpoint. All five of the tumors were less than 1 cm in greatest dimension.